Opinion Don’t listen to the naysayers. Indian cricket will move on and up from Kohli

It’s the natural cycle of sports. Rohit Sharma’s and — to a much larger extent — Kohli’s retirements are bound to have an impact on the Test team, but there is no need for Indian cricket to fear who takes over. That is not to say Gill is the answer to “who next?”. But his presence, among many other talented players is already well established in the Indian cricket conscience. Like Sunil Gavaskar made way for Sachin Tendulkar, like Tendulkar made way for Kohli, Indian cricket will always move on.

The game, as they say, is always bigger than the individuals.

When Tendulkar retired, Kohli was only 20 matches into his Test journey and had overcome an iffy start to recently establish himself in the longest format, which he went on to elevate for the rest of his career. His average at that point was 41.16 and he had scored four centuries. As Kohli calls time, Gill has already played 32 Tests, scored five centuries and — like Kohli — has already experienced the pressures of the format too, facing success and failure in tough conditions around the world.

Then there is Yashasvi Jaiswal, off to a flying start in his Test career, averaging 52.88 after his first 19 Tests with four centuries already and all set to occupy the top of the order for a long time should he continue in this trajectory. In Australia, tough as the series was, Nitish Kumar Reddy shot himself into the spotlight with a sensational century in Melbourne. He showed that a star can emerge at any given time with the right backing.

Why must the next big superstar be a batter, anyway? Indian cricket is already blessed to have an all-time great contender in Jasprit Bumrah, who — fitness permitting — can continue to win matches for India around the world.

Sure, there will be bumps along the road, but in the decades since Tendulkar broke through as a baby-faced prodigy, the systems in place have changed, too. Teenage talents are not an exception but the norm; the Indian Premier League as well as the robust domestic system and the Under-19 World Cup pathway have ensured they are spotted early and groomed with adequate guidance. This year’s IPL has thrown up names like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre, Digvesh Rathi, Vipraj Nigam — all youngsters who have hit the ground running with the confidence that Kohli spoke of. The processes in place automatically dictate that the probability of finding future stars is higher than before.

Of course, in the aforementioned post-match chat, Kohli had mentioned Prithvi Shaw’s name in the same breath as Gill. There is a cautionary tale in it, too, that not all talents blossom into finished products. Dravid, too, had said that back in 2012: “Just being talented doesn’t necessarily mean you will have a successful Test career. There are a lot of things that go with it, how you face the challenges, how you deal with things sometimes that are internal more than external. It will be interesting… to sit back on my couch and watch some of these young talents as they try to establish themselves over the next two-to-three years.”

Kohli might just do the same as he takes a spot on his couch when India go to England.

vinayakk.mohanarangan@expressindia.com